The UK supermarket group Waitrose has introduced a fleet of CNG (compressed natural gas)-powered trucks with a range of up to 500 miles. They trucks . . . will be fueled with biomethane from CNG Fuels.

Ten new Scania-manufactured CNG trucks entered operation for Waitrose in January . . . They are the first in Europe to use twin 26-inch diameter carbon fiber fuel tanks which store gas at 250 bar pressure to increase range from around 300 miles to as much as 500. It will allow them to always run entirely on biomethane, which is 35% to 40% cheaper than diesel and emits 70% less CO2. . . .

Each of Waitrose’s new CNG trucks costs 50% more than one which runs on diesel, but will repay the extra costs in two to three years with fuel savings of £15,000 to £20,000 a year depending on mileage. Its vehicles are likely to operate for at least five more years, generating overall lifetime savings of £75,000 to £100,000 compared with a diesel equivalent. Each truck will save more than 100 tonnes of CO2 a year (versus diesel).

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Ballard Power Systems announced its membership in the “Fuel Cell Electric Bus Commercialization Consortium” (FCEBCC), a large-scale project for which funding has now been committed to support deployment of 20 zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric buses at two California transit agencies. Ten (10) buses are to be deployed with Alameda Contra-Costa Transit District (AC Transit) and 10 buses are to be deployed with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

The FCEBCC project is funded and sponsored by: the California Air Resources Board (CARB) through the California Climate Investments program; the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD); and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The Center for Transportation and Environment (CTE), a non-profit member-based organization, is providing project management and oversight. . . .

Ballard systems will power New Flyer 40-foot Xcelsior XHE40 fuel cell buses, which are planned to be delivered and in-service with AC Transit and OCTA by the end of 2018. The buses are to be supported by advanced hydrogen fueling infrastructure provided by The Linde Group.

The New Flyer Xcelsior buses, powered by Ballard, have a range of approximately 500 kilometers (311 miles). . . .

AC transit has been operating FCEV buses since 2001, and currently has 12 3rd gen. FCEV buses in service. See:

A fuel cell installed in an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus set a record-breaking milestone—20,000 hours of continuous operation. The fuel cell, manufactured by UTC Power, was not expected to operate beyond 5,000 hours, or about one year of service for an AC Transit bus. . . .

I guess these new ones will be 4th gen.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

. . . The bus also uses a high-capacity external power supply system. With a power supply capable of a 9 kW maximum output, and a large capacity of electricity supply at 235 kWh, the FC bus can be used as a power source in the event of disasters, such as at evacuation sites such as in school gymnasiums or, its electricity supply can also be harnessed for home electric appliance use. . . .

There's a spec sheet.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Symbio has integrated a 15 kW (net) fuel cell range extender in a Nissan e-NV200 electric van, with plans to introduce the vehicle to the European taxi market. The new plug-in hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will deliver at least 500 km of range. . . .

The customized e-NV200 offers taxi drivers a similar total cost of ownership to a hybrid taxi, but with the range of an internal combustion engine. Thus, this vehicle could be used for intensive urban taxi operations or for online passenger transportation network services. It can be recharged from a low-cost power supply, and refueled with hydrogen in three minutes (3.8 kg hydrogen at 700 bar). The fuel cell van will have battery packs ranging in capacity from 24 kWh to 36 kWh.

This customized e-NV200 will be available for serial production from September 2018. . . .

The State of California, San Bernardino Council of Governments (SBCOG) and partners Daylight Transport and BYD Motors celebrated the arrival of the first of 27 electric yard and service trucks for freight and rail yards in three disadvantaged communities in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Fontana. The demonstration truck project is funded by $9 million from the State’s climate change-fighting cap-and-trade program and another $10.2 million in cash and in-kind matching funds.

The project demonstrates 23 battery-electric 80,000-pound (GCVWR) Class 8 yard trucks and four 16,100-pound (GVWR) Class 5 service trucks. Three yard trucks and a service truck will operate at Daylight and the other 23 will operate at two BNSF Railway rail yards in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. BNSF will take delivery of the electric trucks this summer.

The Daylight Transport Service Center is a newly constructed, state-of-the-art, environmentally conscious facility. Power for the electric-vehicle chargers at the center will be generated by a 600-kilowatt solar system through net metering, which covers nearly the entire roof of the 60,000-square-foot warehouse. . . .

Over the two-year duration of the demonstration project, the zero-emission trucks are expected to reduce emissions of about 3,500 tons of CO2 equivalent, 3,250 pounds of NOx and 170 pounds of diesel soot. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

The vehicle program is a collaboration between Efficient Drivetrains and North American Repower, California’s leading natural gas engine management and conversion technology company. Supported by a $3-million California Energy Commission grant, the companies are working to convert a fleet of six, Class-6 International armored trucks into “Zero Emission with Range Extension” vehicles—PHEV trucks that operate with electricity and renewable natural gas (RNG). The result is a full OEM-performance electric vehicle that utilizes RNG for range extension and reduces emissions by up to 99% in certain duty cycles.

Currently, Sectran Security trucks make frequent stops as part of their highly congested routes. At each stop, engines are kept idling for security purposes, but now risk violating California’s strict diesel idling regulations, which prohibit idling the engine for more than five minutes.

With the modernized trucks, engine idling is eliminated entirely by operating in all-electric mode during stop-and-go operations. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) revealed “Project Portal”—a hydrogen fuel cell system designed for heavy-duty trucks applied in a Class 8 truck for use at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA).

Announced at a press conference with Port officials and representatives from California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC), the zero-emission truck proof-of-concept will take part in a feasibility study examining the potential of fuel cell technology in heavy duty applications. The study will begin this summer and contribute to the Port’s Clean Air Action Plan, which has significantly reduced harmful emissions from operations at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles since 2005. . . .

The Project Portal platform is designed to provide the target performance required to support port drayage operations. The truck generates more than 670 hp and 1325 lb-ft (1796 N·m) of torque from two Mirai fuel cell stacks and a 12 kWh battery—a relatively small battery to support Class-8 load operations. . . .

The concept’s gross combined weight capacity is 80,000 lbs., and its estimated driving range is more than 200 miles per fill, under normal drayage operation. . . .

These are intended to be used hauling between the port and warehouses etc. up to 70 miles away, i.e. pretty much the entire L.A. basin (SCAQMD).

. . . Craig Scott (yes, that Craig Scott) told InsideEVs that Project Portal is starting at the ports because it was in Toyota’s back yard and, “It makes the problem glaringly obvious. The port is a really big problem, from an emissions point of view. We think there’s a need for it here.”

While there are hydrogen refueling stations in Long Beach, it’s not feasible to refuel the truck there (“we would probably take the station down with the amount of hydrogen we’d use,” Scott said). That’s why Toyota is installing a temporary station down near the dock for the truck.

“One truck holds 10 times more fuel than one Mirai,” he said. “So now you’re talking about 10 trucks easily using a ton of hydrogen in a day, whereas that same volume of hydrogen would probably take a month in a car. There hasn’t been cost reduction on the molecule side fast enough.” By molecule side, Scott means the hydrogen supply, and he said that Project Portal has a complementary goal of reducing H2 refueling costs. “The price [of hydrogen] today is too expensive, and it needs to come down drastically. That can be accomplished, in large part, by pulling more hydrogen through the system, and we’ll pull a lot more hydrogen through the system a lot faster in a heavy duty environment than we would in a light-duty environment. . . .”

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

California Climate Investments is awarding a $12.5-million grant to SunLine Transit Agency for five new zero-emission New Flyer hydrogen fuel cell buses. The grant also supports the development of the largest hydrogen fueling station in the US of its kind, from Hydrogenics, using electricity and renewable energy to generate clean hydrogen. . . .

SunLine will operate the new buses daily on two regular routes from Indio to Mecca/Oasis that provide a 98% coverage of disadvantaged communities. The project will collect 12 months of performance data to be used to help further commercialization of fuel cell technology.

New Flyer is the only North American transit bus manufacturer offering all three types of zero-emission propulsion systems including hydrogen fuel cell-electric, battery-electric and trolley-electric buses. . . .

The SunFuels alternative fueling station offers compressed natural gas and hydrogen for SunLine and the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.